Athletes Yoga Benefits

Looking
for a new way to get in your resistance work? You might be surprised to find
that yoga makes a perfect companion for athletes of all sports as well as the
’jack-of-all-trade’ fitness enthusiasts. Yoga can help you develop better a
breathing technique while it improves your balance, flexibility, core strength,
and endurance.

Develop
Deep, Relaxed Breathing

If
you participate competitively in sport or simply join the occasional fun run on
a whim you are aware of the impact breathing can have on performance. Deep,
relaxed breathing is the foundation of reducing performance anxiety and
improving concentration. Yoga will help you develop a habit of breathing
correctly. Yoga practice integrations the mind-body connection and athletes can
benefit from this combination of skills training.

Increase
Core Strength

Yoga
poses are all about building core strength. The slow, focused movements require
a strong mid-section and the isometric contractions of many exercises will add
a new form of resistance training to your typical machine-based workouts.

Increase
Flexibility and
Range
of
Motion

Yoga
routines incorporate slow, steady flexibility exercise that is ideal for
athletes. Frequent yoga training may increase flexibility, and range of motion
while relieving muscle tension. Whether you are a runner or a golfer, improved
range of motion can often help improve performance.

Improve
Balance

Yoga
is a perfect way to incorporate balance exercises into your training routine.
Balance exercises are often overlooked by athletes, but are one of the most
effective ways to correct muscle imbalance or body mechanic problems. With most
sports and weight training routines you tend to perform repetitive motions that
develop some muscle groups while others are ignored. Yoga can fix these
imbalances.

It’s
Great Cross Training

Yoga
is a great low-impact way to cross train. Cross training is necessary for
athletes who do the same sport or exercise routine year-round. Adding new
exercises can help reduce injury, relieve training boredom, add variety and
help recover from hard aerobic or strength workouts. Yoga can be done at a high
or low intensity and there are hundreds of postures that can provide a workout
for any athletic need.

Something
for Everyone

There
are many styles of yoga that range from very dynamic, active, movements that go
from one posture to another (and result in a thorough aerobic workout) to more
slow-paced practices that hold postures for several minutes and form an intense
strength training and balance workout.

While
yoga is an excellent exercise option, it isn’t without risk. Be sure to review
the Tips for preventing Yoga Injuries.

While
much of the benefit from yoga practice is still based upon subjective feedback
from participants, more research is looking closely at positive health outcomes
from yoga. Studies reported by the National Center for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health have linked yoga
practice with decreased low back pain and less reported chronic pain from
arthritis, headaches, and carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as lower blood
pressure, heart, breathing rates, and reduced insomnia.

Disclaimer: This site
is meant for informative purposes only and does not claim to be medically
correct. Please consult a yoga master, before trying out any of the exercises
and diets listed here. If there is an error, typo or need a correction in any
of our articles on this site, kindly bring it to our notice by sending us yourFeedback.